As I slowly began the movement back into freelance work, this collaboration with Kyle Champion became an important milestone.
The Beethoven and Martinu sonatas are virtuoso works for both the cellist and the pianist, and I worked very hard bringing back my piano technique. Working with Kyle is always a joy at All Saints, whether >
Another crazy end of season, coming just one week after the Association of Anglican Musicians performance by both Canterbury and Coventry choirs. We headed to Anaheim on a bus and led the rousing Integrity Eucharist — celebrating LGBT ministries in the Episcopal Church — in a ballroom at the Anaheim Convention Center. Another inspiring time and grateful to have been asked by the national church.
It's a big deal to be invited to perform for an Association of Anglican Musicians national conference! As such, I was pleased that the leaders, knowing our reputation for high quality and for pushing the boundaries of church repertoire, asked us to lead a Jazz Matins. We had the repertoire, with Bill Cunliffe, and both Canterbury and Coventry choirs arranged to take the day off to lead this service. More than anything, I was deeply moved by the ovation the AAM members gave to the fact that there were even choirs there during the middle of the day. That never happens at these conferences. I just thought that sort of thing was normal! It was a beautiful service and many of the AAM members were moved.
After Barack Obama was elected President in November 2008, Norman Lear had the idea of making a video that could be part of the celebrations around the Inauguration — something that would celebrate the joy of our diversity as a nation. The idea was to have one song that would be sung by diverse soloists and ensembles in iconic US locations. Lear has had a long association / friendship with All Saints Church, so he called Ed Bacon, asking that the All Saints Choir perform the song in the Rose Bowl. I didn't immediately warm to the idea, and truth be told, it was an enormous hassle, because the studio folks said no printed music existed. They sent a CD of the song, which we learned as best we could, by rote, in the choir room, then headed to the Rose Bowl for recording. Crazy! The composer was there and said, "There is printed music, with parts even." BLAH. Anyhow, it is a wonderful remembrance and a pretty cool song of celebration.
In early 1998, I was looking for a spiritual home in Los Angeles. A friend, actor Steve Rowe, told me about a very special place, All Saints Episcopal Church, in Pasadena. Their motto is, “Whoever you are, and wherever you find yourself on your journey of faith, there is a place here for you.” That >
